Christina Applegate Gets Mastectomy for Breast Cancer

Christina Applegate, an actress well-known for her role as a ditzy blonde on the TV show "Married with Children", has had a double mastectomy to treat her breast cancer. This was unusual given that she had cancer in only one breast. Applegate's mother had breast cancer and suffered with the disease. Applegate wanted to eliminate any chance of the cancer recurring.Applegate underwent genetic testing and it was discovered that she had the BRCA1 genetic mutation. According to medical experts, the risk of additional breast cancer is 1 in 2 for those with this gene. Applegate's mother also had this genetic mutation.